DuPont made history this week when the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) granted approval for the first “refuge in the bag” with commercial registration of Optimum® AcreMax™ 1 insect protection for Pioneer® brand corn hybrids. “This decision is not only a regulatory milestone, but also great news for corn growers,” said Paul E. Schickler, president — Pioneer Hi-Bred, a DuPont business. …
Record Crop Progress
Record planting progress continued around the country last week, despite the rain, and corn planting is breaking records. USDA reports that 68 percent of the corn crop was planted by Sunday. That’s 28 percent more than the five year average and five percent more than the previous record for this time of year in 2004. Emergence is at 19 percent, …
USDA Deregulates Syngenta Seeds Corn Trait
Syngenta Seeds is proud to announce it has received deregulation from USDA for the Agrisure Viptera trait. The Agrisure Viptera trait will be combined with the Agrisure 3000GT trait stack to form the new Agrisure Viptera 3111 trait stack. The introduction of the Agrisure Viptera 3111 trait stack continues the tradition of the Agrisure Corn Traits system — providing high-performance …
Remember Agriculture on Earth Day
Tomorrow is the 40th anniversary of Earth Day in the United States. I still remember the very first Earth Day when I was in middle school and it was a very “hippy-ish” sort of deal. Today, everyone is in on the environmental act. That includes farmers and ranchers – the original environmentalists. As National Corn Growers Association president Darrin Ihnen, …
Plow Boys Make Planting Progress
The planters were tearing it up around the country last week in the glorious weather. What a difference a year makes! Last year at this time, just five percent of the corn was planted. As of Sunday, a whopping 19 percent was in the ground – more than twice the five year average! Illinois has 34 percent planted, compared to …
Ethanol “FlameDisk” Demo
“Drink the best and burn the rest” has been the unofficial motto of the ethanol industry – but you can literally do that when you grill with the FlameDisk® charcoal alternative. According to their promotional material, “the FlameDisk® is much more eco-friendly than charcoal and lighter fluid because it features renewable ethanol. Ethanol is extremely clean burning and generates 90% …
Let’s Put More Corn In The Classroom
Teaching children about where there food comes from is talked about a lot and the Missouri Corn Merchandising Council is doing something about it with their “Corn in the Classroom” program. This educational program helps students reconnect with today’s farmers and better understand the source of their food, fiber and fuel. “Informing students about Missouri’s corn industry allows them to …
Growers Give Stoller a “Green” Thumb of Approval
There was a lot to see and hear about at Commodity Classic but maybe the best testimonials for a product are the growers themselves. I spent a little time with two growers who gave several Stoller USA products their stamp of approval. Why? Because they have seen significant increase to their yields. Ken Miller, both a grower and ag retailer …
Corn Ethanol Still in Its Infancy
The National Corn-to-Ethanol Research Center (NCERC) is relatively new to Commodity Classic with this being their third year. You could tell when you talked with John Caupert, the director of NCERC, how excited he was to be there so I asked him why. “There’s energy, there’s enthusiasm back around around ethanol and biofuels. Some people believe that corn ethanol is …
Dow AgroSciences Develops SmartStax for Corn
A recent focus of Bill Hendrix, the Biology Team Leader, Insect Management Traits & Seeds Treatments for Dow AgroSciences, is developing the new SmartStax technology for corn with Monsanto. I spoke with Hendrix about the new SmartStax traits in more detail during Commodity Classic. The SmartStax technology brings eight traits in a package of corn. It received registration in 2009 …